On Friday’s The View, actress Portia de Rossi revealed that she was grateful for an unexpected fire alarm during her last appearance on the AM talk show in 2003 because she was petrified that the ladies were going to grill her about her life as a lesbian.

“It took me quite a while [to come out] because I was one of those actors who was very afraid that my career would be over,” the Australian-born actress revealed, explaining that she kept her sexuality a secret because she was worried about its potential impact on her acting career.

“The most interesting part of this for me was that I, at the time, was very closeted and very, very afraid that one of you would ask me about my private life,” Portia, who appears on ABC’s Better Off Ted, told the ladies. “So I was sitting here very nervous and then, from what I remember, somebody maybe asked me something about my private life or were kind of getting into that realm and then, like divine intervention… the alarms went off and I didn’t have to answer.”

Portia’s remarks come just days after gay actor, Rupert Everett told Britain’s Guardian newspaper, that his homosexuality destroyed his career.